Festive craft

It's been a while since my last post and it has been an eventful month. With the deadline of our family 'Christmas' in the UK on 11 December I have never done so much sewing and completed so many craft projects! I went to a great upcycling workshop and learnt to make all number of craft items for Christmas.

My family exchanged tree presents so most of them got handmade coasters, I also sewed onto t-shirts for my niece and nephew (Mickey Mouse's silhouette for William and two birds for Emma). I also made a table mat, some bunting, a monster softie, tree ornament and I finally finished the tree softie I started several years ago.






I had an eventful 2 and bit weeks in the UK travelling to Southampton, Blackpool, London, Brighton and Cambridge in a short space of time. After many mulled wines and ciders, Mum's lovely Christmas dinner, christmas lights, trees, music and carol singing I left feeling very festive.

Once I got back to Sydney I put my Christmas tree up. Sadly I can't find the large star to put on top but I think I did a good job improvising!

On a separate note, something that made me smile today, courtesy of my friend Alice.

Things that make you go hmmm....

As I wrote the title I had to look up the music video, I'm listening to it now for nostalgia :-)

I may be thinking like an Australian now, but is it just me or does this look like the Sydney Opera House in my coffee?

Went to Summer Hill for some lunch and shopping this afternoon. Here are a few things that caught my eye..


I love this mirror! 














I've always loved bunting, I have to make some one day...

I'd love to have a fresh supply of flowers every week, but then perhaps they wouldn't feel so special? 

Then it was off to my new favourite little patisserie La Banette for my favourite - a pastry with layers of cream, strawberries and pastry, coupled with a coffee and the inspirational book i'm reading 'Life Without Limits' by Nick Vujicic I was happy as Larry! 

Australian Citizenship

Gifts I got from the girls at work

Carl and I had our citizenship ceremony on Friday, I felt quite nervous sitting in the crowd waiting to find out if we'd have to stand at the front and read anything out aloud! It turned out that the pledge was read out in two group readings, the first swearing an oath under God and the second swearing an oath to Australia and its people.

The only time we went up the front was to have our photos taken with the Minister for Immigration and the Deputy Lord Major of Sydney. The photos will be posted to us so we'll have to wait to see how they came out! We of course took our own photos next to a picture of the Queen!

Next was sparkling wine and lamingtons, Anzac biscuits and mini pavlovas. I of course darted straight for the cakes while everyone else ran for the wine!

Gifts we got at the ceremony

Next stop was the Opera Kitchen for some fish and chips with salad with another glass of sparkling wine and a view of the Sydney Opera House and bridge, a cab ride to Glebe for coffee and cake, back home to get ready sharpish and onto the Australian Youth Hotel (AYH, not YHA, Alice :-) ) for drinks and pool in great company. What better way to celebrate our new nationality?

I've managed to sneak the words doonah, eggplant, zucchini and pants into my conversation this week instead of duvet, aubergine, courgette and trousers so I think I'm doing pretty well!

Lawn bowls

Went and played barefoot bowls at Clovelly today with a view of the ocean. Such a beautiful day for it and great fun. I started off really badly but managed to get my ball right next to the white ball by the end! Carl's ball is the one on the bottom right, but we were both on the same team. We lost sadly but we were just getting warmed up when we finished for the day. Next time...

Things that made me smile this week..

It's been a busy week but there's been things along the way that have made me smile, laugh or think.

A freshly made chocolate milkshake after 3 1/2 hours of shopping only to remain empty handed * Wandering home after said shopping trip and stumbling across the perfect pair of shoes on sale! * Getting out of the shower to a coffee and a smoothie made for me * Feeling inspired by a stool cover made from a recycled coffee bag * A spontaneous necklace purchase in Dinosaur Designs * Signs all around that spring is here and summer is on its way * Community spirit at my local 2nd hand market * Enjoying a coffee and some lunch by myself whilst reading 'The Power of Now' * A comically high pile of garlic on my plate leftover from my salad * The thought of being half British, half Australian in 6 days time * Working out my itinerary for being home this time in 10 weeks! * This made me chuckle too, despite it's serious content!

A Small Victory

As I walked home from work today I managed to stop myself grumbling to myself about the low sun glaring into my eyes. Instead I saw it as a creative opportunity to take a couple of photos. I often beat myself up for not taking the time to do creative things like getting my sewing machine out or making some jewellery. After making the effort to stop and take photos I felt a sense of relief, it was just a small victory but I realised that being more creative doesn't have to mean spending hours sewing or coming up with a new item for my collection. The simple things are just as satisfying.

Feeling good about my burst of inspiration I went and bought myself some flowers, put the kettle on (I never have a coffee when I get home but today I really felt like it), sat down and enjoyed a cup of coffee and opened my mail. I was pleased to see I got some from the UK (I get a little buzz when I see a UK stamp!) It was a nice thank you note from my cousin Kate and her husband Owen (thanks Kate and Owen! :-))

New collection

It has been quite an inspiring week this week. I was commissioned to make a lapel style brooch and ended up creating 3 variations, my client ended up buying all 3! It has inspired me to continue the collection and come up with more brooch ideas. I have put pics of the brooches below.

 Went to Eveleigh markets this morning and saw some great handmade creations. I got talking to several stall holders about my earrings that I was wearing and one of them is potentially interested in stocking them on her stall.

Made a new batch of my yummy flapjacks. I think they are going to be my new party trick! So easy to whip up and taste better than the level of effort involved! Here's the link to the recipe for anyone interested. Instead of 200g sugar I use about 80g sugar and 60-80g desiccated coconut. I also add some walnuts.

I have a soft grey jumper of Carl's that I'm trying to think of a project for this week. I might make a softie with it or a glasses case or something. Any ideas are welcome!

What's that??

Had a pretty eventful day today, Carl and I got our confirmed dates for our Australian citizenship ceremony. From 23rd September we will be just as much Australian as we are British! Then we can apply for our Australian passports. No more long immigration queues for us!

Carl got some good news, soon to be announced once confirmed!

Had an embarrassing moment at dinner, went for Thai in Newtown and I came out of the bathroom, saw some food on the table, pulled a face and said "What's that??", only to look up and see that I had sat down at the wrong table and there was a very confused man sitting in front of me! As I turned purple I ran away to the next table where Carl was sitting!!

Had some coconut juice and it reminded me of our holiday in Thailand (minus the plastic wrapping around the coconut! - as you'll see from my photo above) I'm hoping we'll make it to Thailand for a holiday on our next trip home.

Took the photo on the left on our walk home. I noticed one of the new little bars had traffic lights in it. I couldn't get my little iPhone lens to focus on it but I quite like the effect.

Spring has sprung

Well it's the first day of spring today and the first day of my new blog. Just trying to get to grips with everything, so much to learn! Looking forward to having all of my creative finds in one place and sharing them with others. Here's a picture of something that made me smile today, it was stuck on top of a 'to let' sign. Goodnight all. Hannah x